(HBĐT) – Despite his old age, 80-year-old Bui Ngoc Thuan from Bung 1 village, Thu Phong commune, Cao Phong district, is still active and in his right mind. Twenty five years since his retirement, he has dedicated himself to preserving and promoting folk culture.

Meritorious
Artist Bui Ngoc Thuan (R) instructs members of art troupe of Bung 1 village,
Thu Phong commune, Cao Phong district, how to play gongs
Thuan said on several occasions, the front yard of his house
is used as a practising place of the local singing club. He said when he was a
child, he followed his grandparents, father and uncles to learn how to play
gongs and sing along. When he grew up, his father taught him Muong gong
tradition. Later, returning to the hometown after fulfilling State service, he
continued upholding the role of an exemplary Party member. With the voice of a
reputable person, he called on local residents to stay united and join hands to
build cultural lifestyle.
Muong Thang area has a traditional craft of knitting.
Following his retirement, he found out that this craft had fallen into oblivion
with only a few people mastering it, apart from himself. With a desire to
revive the traditional craft, he both studied the market to seek consumption
and handed over lessons to young people. So far, traditional handicraft
products made by local villagers have been favoured by customers thanks to
their durability and eco-friendly materials.
In recent years, the local Party committee and authorities
have paid attention to the preservation of ethnic cultural identity. Thuan is
one of the outstanding individuals who actively engage in the effort.
Thuan said with pride that clubs maintain their regular
activities, especially the folk singing club. On every Saturday evening, its
members gather at cultural house to practice singing. Many of them are chosen
to perform at local major events, festivals and competitions at the district
and provincial levels.
He also devoted a lot of enthusiasm to preserving and
promoting the value of Muong gong cultural heritage as the head of the Muong
Thang gong club.
Thuan is the only artisan of Cao Phong district to be
awarded with the title of Meritorious Artist (in the field of folk performing
arts) by the President./.
With an increasingly vibrant and widespread emulation movement aimed at building cultured residential areas and cultured families, Yen Thuy District has been making steady progress toward improving both the material and spiritual well-being of its people, while fostering a civilized, prosperous, beautiful, and progressive community.
Once lacking recreational spaces and community facilities, Residential Group 2 in Quynh Lam Ward (Hoa Binh City) has recently received attention for the construction of a new, spacious, and fully equipped cultural house. The project followed the model of state support combined with public contributions in both labor and funding.
The "All people unite to build cultural life" movement, which has been effectively integrated with Kim Boi district’s socio-economic development goals, is fostering a lively spirit of emulation across local residential areas, hamlets, villages, public agencies, and enterprises. In addition, through the initiative, traditional cultural values are being preserved and promoted, while community solidarity and mutual support in poverty reduction and economic development are being strengthened.
A working delegation of the Hoa Binh provincial People’s Committee led by its Permanent Vice Chairman Nguyen Van Toan on June 11 inspected the progress of a project to build the Mo Muong Cultural Heritage Conservation Space linked to tourism services in Hop Phong commune, Cao Phong district.
Born and growing in the heroic land of Muong Dong, Dinh Thi Kieu Dung, a resident in Bo town of Kim Boi district, in her childhood was nurtured by the sweet lullabies of her grandmother and mother. These melodies deeply imprinted on her soul, becoming an inseparable part of her love for her ethnic group's culture. For over 20 years, this love for her hometown has driven Dung to research, collect, and pass down the cultural values of the Muong people to future generations.
In the final days of May, the Ethnic Art Troupe of Hoa Binh Province organized performances to serve the people in remote, mountainous, and particularly disadvantaged areas within the province. These were not just ordinary artistic shows, but they were the meaningful journeys aimed at spreading cultural values, enhancing the spiritual life of the people and contributing to the preservation of ethnic minority cultural identities.